Adsorption heat pumps based on silica gel have been studied for many years. However, one of the major difficulties with any silica gel based system has been inefficient heat transfer due to the low thermal conductivity of silica gel. The heat of adsorption has a value within 5-10% of the heat of vaporization, and can quickly raise the temperature of the adsorbent and slow or stop the adsorption process if not effectively removed. Previous attempts have used clay binders, waterglass, and conductive epoxies to thermally couple the silica gel with expensive extended metal heat sink structures. However, to date, no simple, inexpensive solution has been developed to allow use with, for example, devices that rely on small temperature differentials, where the adsorbent temperature cannot elevate significantly during adsorption.